U.S. Congress Leans Toward Massive China Competition Bill And Votes on Iran

The United States Congress moved closer to finalizing a long-stalled bill allowing hundreds of billions of dollars to bolster the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology on Wednesday, with Senate votes on a variety of subjects, including Iran policy.

Although the motions are not binding, they provide insight into what senators want to see in the final bill and what would prevent it from receiving enough votes to become law.

Republicans used debate on the bill to offer motions weighing in on President Joe Biden's efforts to renegotiate the international nuclear deal with Iran, which passed with support from several Democrats.

Republicans were unified in their opposition to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Senators voted 62-33 on a "Motion to Instruct" that, if passed, would prevent the Biden administration from eliminating Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps' terrorist status, a roadblock to restarting the nuclear accord.

Additionally, the Senate voted 86-12 in favor of a resolution declaring that sanctions against Iran related to terrorism are vital to rein in China's assistance with Iran.

Such measures might complicate delicate nuclear deal negotiations, but western officials have largely abandoned optimism that the deal can be restored following then-Republican President Donald Trump's 2018 withdrawal.

They also have the potential to complicate the passage of the China competition measure, which has been wending its way through Congress for a year.

Senate passed the first version in June 2021, with overwhelming bipartisan backing. The $250 billion package was heralded as the most significant government intervention in manufacturing in decades, but it was delayed in the House.

In February 2022, the House enacted its version, the "America COMPETES Act of 2022." Except for one Republican in the chamber, every Republican voted nay.

Nearly $300 billion is authorized for research and development under the COMPETES Act, including $52 billion to subsidize semiconductor manufacture and research.

After the Senate votes on all 28 Motions to Instruct, House and Senate lawmakers will begin their conference on a final COMPETES Act. Aides to Congress anticipated months of negotiations.